Troubleshooting Licensing Problems

Arbortext users must have an active maintenance agreement, a PTC online account login and password, and a Host ID to get a license. Go to support.ptc.com to obtain a license. Refer to Requesting Licenses for more information.

Arbortext products display the Licensing Error dialog box when a license can’t be found. There are a wide variety of reasons that your software can’t obtain a license. For floating licenses, the more common error messages may report that the license server is down or that all licenses are in use. If so, you should wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists, contact your license administrator. For node-locked licenses, the error message may report that the path to the license file is not valid. If so, you will need to locate the license file and update the path.

Licensing information is stored in the PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE Environment Variable. If it isn’t defined correctly or isn’t defined at all, the Licensing Error dialog box will prompt you to enter the correct licensing information.

Check whether you have the correct path for your license file. Locate your license file and compare its location with the path specified in the Licensing Error dialog box or the PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.

If you are unable to obtain a floating license, investigate the following:

• Check whether you have the correct license server port number and server name (or three consecutive servers if your site is using a triad license server). Ask your license administrator for the correct value for the license server and enter it in the Licensing Error dialog box.

• If your site is using a triad license server, and the first license server goes down, licenses might be unavailable for a few minutes until the backup servers start distributing licenses. Wait for a few minutes and restart your Arbortext software. If you receive the same message, contact your system administrator and ask if the triad server is running.

If your Arbortext software session is inactive for a long period of time, the license manager (which serves floating licenses) may take back your license based on the FlexNet license server’s TIMEOUT(ALL) configuration setting. If all available licenses are in use by other users when you resume your Arbortext software session, you will see an error message. The FLEXnet Licensing End User Guide, which explains the TIMEOUT(ALL) setting as well as other configuration settings, should be reviewed carefully by the license administrator.

This message might also appear if you are using a system in a remote location and connected to the license server over a VPN or dial-up connection. You may need to re-establish your connection before you can continue to use your Arbortext software. In such cases, license borrowing may be a more effective strategy. Refer to Borrowing a License for more information.